Girl power. From 2012 to 2017, women went from 33.1% to 43.6% of all Ironman finishers, and their average time dropped 16 full minutes from 13:08 to 12:52. Men’s average finishing times actually rose slightly over this time-frame, from 12:30 to 12:35.

Among half-Ironman races, women went from 39.2% to 45.5% of all finishers. Each gender’s average half-Ironman finishing time rose, women’s from 5:55 to 6:07 and men’s from 5:47 to 6:00.

A logical follow-up question you may have is: where are these gains being made? Are they equal across all age groups, or are women of a specific age participating more often? Check this out:

(Age groups outside this 15-74 were omitted for lack of data.)

You can see above that gains in female participation were made in every age group. Many levels have steadily crept up to over 40% in 2017, whereas in 2012 none of them were even close to that marker. It also appears that the most under-represented groups (15-19 and 60-64) have quickly caught up to their older and younger peers.